All throughout Dublin there is an apparent clash between the old-time city and the modernity that has entered the country throughout the past 20 years. When looking at the physical architecture of the city you can clearly see a difference between the previously existing buildings and the new high-rise buildings that came with the arrival of major companies into Dublin. Although this is obvious, I think that the effect of modernization has had a much more significant impact on Irish society and culture. In only my short 4 days in the country I have had the opportunity to talk to locals, and I can confidently say that this has been my favorite thing to do. Although you would typically expect everyone to be of Irish descent, I have found that Dublin has become a cultural melting pot. Although they have not been impacted to the extent that major cities in the United States like New York City has, the modernization of Dublin has attracted immigration from all corners of the world. When talking to a group of people from Brazil on a night out, they told me of their story on how they ended up calling Dublin their home. In this specific case, they told me they came to Ireland to pursue a career with Google. Although this is just one instance, this story is overall representative of how the modernization of Ireland is making Ireland a more diverse country. With this being said, it is important to note that the Irish have still kept their culture strongly intact. The Irish have a very proud and distinct culture that I think is well represented by the Gaelic Games. These sports symbolize many of the key notes of Irish culture with one of the most obvious takeaways being the importance of community and pride in Irish society.
Overall, I think it really impressive how Dublin specifically has become such a modern society within such a short period of time. This modernization has undeniably flipped the role of the Irish in a professional aspect. As Dr. Darren mentioned, the Irish were historically treated as second class citizens and forced into the low paying and labor-intensive jobs that were often seen as undesirable. However, this new wave of modernization has completely flipped this structure. Today, the Irish are a highly educated group of people and are rewarded with high paying corporate jobs while immigrants to Ireland are left filling the more undesirable positions within their society. We experienced this firsthand when we went out for dinner last night as nearly the entire restaurant was staffed by Asian immigrants.
We also had the opportunity to visit the Google offices headquartered here in Dublin. I can confidently say that this Google office would be a place that I would love to work, and I may even be hesitant to trust the sincerity of anyone who thinks otherwise. The office featured amenities that I have never seen offices included in the Pittsburgh office buildings like a full-size gym, a pool, complete medical services, and just an attractive setup in general. On top of this, the culture at Google seemed to be very strong. With such a large number of employees and more specifically employees from diverse cultures, it may seem difficult to create such a culture. However, Google seems to invest a lot of money and resources into fostering a community environment where employees are encouraged to bring creative ideas to the forefront and are not scared to fail.
